***On Twitter @OfficialRVGA and on YouTube @ http://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialRVGA*** Welcome to the Retro Video Game Addict's Official blog page! Here you will be able to tap into the mind of a man who knows, loves, and enjoys his retro/classic video games. Everything from the Atari 2600 to the Nintendo 64 is covered here, so strap yourself in for a fun ride down memory lane, and don't say that you weren't warned before hand. Please, enjoy your stay and keep your kids off my lawn.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Yeah, yeah. I know what you're
thinking. “Why is there an article about comic books on a retro
video game blog site?”. Well, to tell you the truth, I'm not
exactly sure. I was just laying around doing nothing and I suddenly
felt the need to sit down and type out my feelings on the pulp
storytelling movement that is currently happening over at Dynamite
Entertainment. For those who don't know what I'm talking about,
relax, this won't hurt (I swear!) and you may find yourself kind of
interested in what I have to say. But before I do I have to let you
in on a little secret. You ready? Here it comes.....

Superheroes no longer have to
wear spandex.

There, I said it! Dynamite
Entertainment has enlisted quite the crew to bring us comic book
readers some of the absolute best comics on store shelves right now
and these characters are not spandex clad and do not leap tall
buildings in a single bound. They're normal human beings just like
you and me, but with a few dollars in the bank that allows them to do
what they do. These characters were popular back in the 30's and 40's
but have basically been absent from the public eye for several
decades until a company known as Dynamite Entertainment picked them
up and decided to publish comics based around these characters for
both fans of the originals and a bold new modern audience. This was a
risky task considering modern comic book fans are used to their
heroes having superpowers and being either mutants or tricked out in
some colorful superhero gear. Not these heroes! These guys are
packing heat, wearing fine business suits, ankle long trench coats,
and many of them protect their identities with cheap eye coverings
and fedora's. Take that Spider-Man!

This style of “pulp hero” is
something that actually found popularity before the traditional
superhero ever graced a comic book page. Comic books started finding
their ways to newsstands sometime in the mid 1930's while pulp books
have been printed since the very early 1900's, and the differences
between a superhero and a “pulp hero” is that the pulp hero will
shoot you clean between your eyes and leave for you for dead while
the superhero will try to rehabilitate you. Pulp storytelling is a
violent, take no prisoners, affair that has found it's way back into
readers hands for what appears to be a long haul and something I've
personally taken to over the past couple of years.

Dynamite publishes a lot more pulp
characters than the ones I'm going to discuss in this blog but I'm
choosing to discuss the pulp heroes in the traditional sense. They
publish comics based on John Carter, Zorro, Lone Ranger, Tarzan, and
a few others, but this blog entry is geared more toward The Shadow,
The Spider, Green Hornet, The Black Bat, Miss Fury, and others. For
me (and many others) Dynamite hooked me on the pulp characters when
they first started publishing The Green Hornet sometime in 2010. The
Shadow in May of 2012 was another title that hooked me and then soon
after that they began putting out comics based around The Spider and
before you knew it more and more started trickling in. Luckily pretty
much all of the books within this line have been extremely well
written and feature art that fits the mood of the books. In other
words, it's been a hell of a ride.

I like the fact that these heroes
are not scared to kill their enemies as opposed to the traditional
superheroes you get from DC and Marvel, it gives the books a sense of
unpredictability that you won't find elsewhere. These classic heroes
swear, smoke, drink, engage in adult “situations”, and kill with
the best of them. But all in the name of “justice”, of course.
And why not? Sometimes to preserve the law you need to break the law
and if killing a man who poisoned a city or who tossed an elderly
woman off of a rooftop after wiping out a bank full of hostages is
the only way to get the job done, than I say go for it. The only
alternative is either rehabilitation the criminals by locking them
away in Arkham, or delivering a super powered psychopath to the boys
in blue. And I think we all know how that turns out, you see what I'm
saying?

Now, I'd like to take a few
moments to talk about a few of the specific titles within the pulp
line Dynamite had going on. The firs title I would like to discuss
with you would be their flagship book, The Shadow, which was launched
by the legendary writer known the industry over as Garth Ennis. The
opening arc was a mixed bag to many fans, it seemed like they either
loved it or hated it (I enjoyed it quite a bit) but the sales
remained strong and the story was quite compelling. The artist on the
book illustrates The Shadow and his 1930's surroundings perfectly and
the artist that took over the book on it's 12th issue
gives the title a flair that is up there with some of the best
pencilers in the comic book industry. It's just remarkable. The story
is dark and violent and The Shadow pulls no punches as he fights
criminals in New York and over seas, bringing justice in the only way
he knows how: Through the barrels of his double pistols. Make no
mistake here kids, this isn't you're friendly neighborhood Spider-Man
or your classic red cape who is vowing to bring us “justice in the
American way”, no, this head crackin' to the 10th degree
and definitely not for anyone under the age of 14 or 15.

The Spider is very similar. This
book features a hero who is defending his city against crazed
lunatics on a daily basis while trying to keep an eye on the woman he
loves who just happens to be married to his closest friend, the
police chief. Most of the book is written with The Spider trying to
use the police to help him solve mysteries while trying to keep his
identity safe while he desperately wants to win back his true love.
It's remarkable how this book cliff hangs and pulls you in for the
next issue, it's definitely underrated and deserves all the readers
it can get. In fact, Dynamite almost pulled the plug on it as of it's
12th issue, but fan outcry on the Dynamite forums and on
Twitter helped to #SaveTheSpider and the book is solicited to it's
15th issue as of this writing. The writing in this book is
top notch and some of David Liss' finest work, the art was phenomenal
as well with the original artist and even better with Ivan Rodriguez
since he's taken over pencils as of a few months back. Stellar colors
and inks set this book apart as a real looker too, everything is just
solid all around.

The Green Hornet is off to a
masterful start as Mark Waid takes the character back to his original
roots. Don't confuse this book with the existing Green Hornet title
that was launched by Kevin Smith, though! That Green Hornet title has
been rebranded as “Legacy” and follows the adventures of the
original Hornet's son in the modern day while Waid's book follows the
original Green Hornet in his native setting. Both book are great and
should be given a chance but the newer of the two GH comics is the
top dog in the eyes of Dynamite and their readers. Waid's art and
Indro's pencils couple to make a kick in the ass that reviewers all
over the world have said is the best rendition of The Green Hornet to
date, which is a huge compliment seeing as how the character has been
around since the late 30's or early

40's. And the book is just
getting started too, lot's more is on it's way including a crossover
title between The Green Hornet and The Shadow and more from the
“Legacy” book. For me, this character has the making of becoming
something truly special in the world of comics, especially with a top
tier talent like Mark Waid at the helm and art that pop's out at you
the way that it does. Phenomenal!

I could go on and on about these
pulp titles. MASKS, Miss Fury, The Black Bat (a personal favorite),
and more.....but instead I'll just kick back and let you be the
judge. That's right. I CHALLENGE you to give these books a shot
whether it be through single issues, trade/GN's, or digitally through
Comixology and tell me that these aren't some of the most enjoyable
comics you've read in a while. Seriously, I think that as successful
as they are they've yet to truly scratch the surface and I believe
that this whole revolution will be something special that we'll
remember for quite some time to come, especially by those who
embraced the movement. So, with that said I want you to get down to
you're local comic book store or grab you're closest iOS or Android
device and snatch up some of these Dynamite Entertainment gems, I
truly think you'll see what I'm talking about and stay on board for
the long haul. If not than at least you can say you tried them, but
yeah, prepare for a long and blissful stay upon the S.S #PulpComics.
Cheers!#PulpComics #SaveTheSpider

4 comments:

Excellent! I've been enjoying this revival as well. The Shadow, The Green Hornet, and especially The Spider. The art is fantastic, and the stories are really well-written. Also loving Masks and The Black Bat. It's hard to decide to wait monthly on print issues or binge on trades. They're that good! Thanks for the article.

Great article. RED SONJA was my first Dynamite title, and over the years they have kept publishing more and more titles I have enjoyed (LONE RANGER, ZORRO, BUCK ROGERS, THE PHANTOM, PROJECT SUPERPOWERS, KIRBY:GENESIS, FLASH GORDON, and more). That has reached an all-time high with the pulp comics. I'm currently getting (and loving) SHADOW, SHADOW:YEAR ONE, SPIDER, MASKS, MISS FURY, BLACK BAT, LONE RANGER, LORD OF THE JUNGLE, WARLORD OF MARS, DEJAH THORIS, Mark Waid'S GREEN HORNET, RED SONJA, P.C.:THUNDERBOLT, PATHFINDER, SHERLOCK HOLMES, and I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting some other titles! Looking forward to THE OWL. I hope this Pulp Comics revival will thrive.